CYA - High Concentration Measurement?

[GreenThumb]

Using the melamine test method for cyanuric acid concentration it's unclear if the pool water sample is High ppm or zero.

When the pool water and CYA reagent are mixed for 30-seconds the solution does NOT become cloudy. Is this a bad sign?

As the solution is dripped into the cylinder the black dot in the bottom is always crystal clear. Does this mean the CYA concentration is greater that the 100 ppm range of the cylinder... or Zero?

Conducted the test with the HTH 6-way test kit (twice) and no cloudy solution. To eliminate inaccurate reagent as a factor, I purchased Taylor CYA reagent #13 today and performed multiple tests. Same result of crystal clear mixture.

Is there another test that measures CYA in concetrations greater than the 100 ppm of this HTH test kit?

Perhaps, I put too much HTH 'Stabilizer and Conditioner' in last summer?

Appreciate your thoughts!

[BigDave]

Sounds to me that you are doing the test correctly and have no CYA. When you mix for 30 seconds - mix is shake vigorously. How's your chlorine demand? Did the FC drop to 0 over the winter? There are bacteria that consume CYA and convert it to nitrogen compounds - sometimes it takes the form of ammonia and that requires huge amounts of chlorine to clear.

[GreenThumb]

BigDave,

The winter was mild in Houston so pump cycle time was reduced and the FC often remained near zero.
I was not confident about the test method, so mixed a small amount of 'Stabilizer and Conditioner' in a 1/2-cup of tap water and let it sit for a few hours before running this CYA test.
Wow...when tested it was really cloudy. So now I better understand that this test works and that the pool indeed needs additional stabilizer.

I was unaware of the nitrogen and ammonia compund formation.

Thank you for your help.

[PoolDoc]

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